Behavior Key Terms Flashcards
The theory that all related organisms descended from common ancestors
Theory of Evolution
Who developed the Theory of Evolution and in what book was it introduced?
Charles Darwin and The Origin of Species
What did Darwin believe was the main factor in influencing animal behavior?
Instinct
The process that awards survival and reproductive success to individuals and groups best adjusted to their environment
Natural Selection
What did Darwin believe led to individual species adapting to their environments?
Natural Selection + Instinctive Behavior
The natural process of slow change and development that gradually leads to the development of new species of plants and animals over a very long time
Evolution
The classification given to a group of similar living organisms who can exchange genes and produce young
Species
Inherited or genetically coded responses to environmental stimuli / an animal’s inherent ability to perform tasks such as hunting, feeding, and mating
Instinct
What animal behavioral belief stemmed from Darwin’s theories of natural selection combined with instinct and asserts that much of what animals know is instinctive?
Classical Ethology
Kittens not needing to be taught what to do when presented with a litter box is an example of what behavioral theory?
Classical Ethology
Something that produces a learned response
Conditioned Stimulus
Something that produces a reflexive response
Unconditioned Stimulus
An involuntary, simple reflex behavior
Unconditioned Response
Who is the originator of the Behaviorism concept?
John B. Watson
The theory that says all complex forms of behavior (including emotions, thoughts, habits) are complex muscular and glandular responses that can be observed, measured, and learned
Stimulus Response Theory
What experiment is an example of Classical Conditioning?
Pavlov’s Experiment
What experiment is an example of Operant Conditioning?
Skinner’s Experiment
What are the two types of conditioned learning?
Classical and Operant
The theory that behavior is learned rather than genetically programmed
Behaviorism
Muscular and glandular responses that can be observed, measured and learned
Stimulus Responses
The association of stimuli that happens at approximately the same time or roughly the same area
Classical Conditioning
The association of an activity with punishment or reward
Operant Conditioning
*aka Instrumental Learning / Trial-and-Error Learning
The study of the biological basis of the social behavior
Sociobiology
Any immediate pleasant occurrence that follows a behavior and can be used to encourage desired behaviors
Positive Reinforcement
How quickly after a behavior must a reward be given in order for Positive Reinforcement to be effective?
20 seconds max
The removal of an immediate unpleasant occurrence to create a desired behavior
Negative Reinforcement
What is an example of Positive Reinforcement vs Negative Reinforcement?
Positive - Dog sits on command > treat or pets
Negative - Dog finally stands still > the trainer releases pressure being held on the dog
What is the key difference between punishment and negative reinforcement?
Punishment = used to DECREASE a behavior
Negative Reinforcement = used to INCREASE a behavior
Adding an undesirable occurrence after a behavior to decrease the frequency of that behavior
Positive Punishment
Subtracting something pleasant after a behavior to decrease the frequency of that behavior
Negative Punishment
The process by which young animals acquire responses to auditory or visual cues presented by their caretaker(s) in order to recognize and bond with said caretaker(s) / identify them as individuals
Imprinting